Back to the Start (Full)
I started this in bits and pieces, so some of this was posted previously.
But I finished!
Baconverse: Back to the Start Takes place five months after the end of season 2.
“…Can…hear…?"
M'gann’s eyes snap open and she sits up in her bedroom on the Watchtower.
It’s been nearly five months since the Reach were defeated…since the Light were fragmented…Since Wally West…
But she can hear him now. Why now suddenly?
She gets to her feet and wanders around the room.
"W…Wally…?”
“M'g…hear me?"
She reaches out psychically. "I can hear you…focus on me. Focus on my voice, Wally."
"M'gann…?”
“Where are you?"
"I…I don’t know…so tired…always running…so…so scared…"
"Wally…”
“M'gann…please…please end this…please…”
He sounds broken. He sounds like he wants to die, and M'gann feels tears threaten her because when she reaches out with her mind she can feel his defeat; his longing to really truly end it.
“Hang on, Wally. Just hang on a little longer."
If she concentrates she can feel his presence; can pinpoint where he’s been for the last five months. She shifts into her uniform and heads out of her room and for the bioship.
"Just a little longer, Wally. I’m on my way.”
*****
M'gann dashes off the Bioship and is immediately hit by the cold arctic winds outside.
This is it.
This is where they lost him.
“Wally?”
She gets no response, but she can feel his presence. He’s here, but she can’t see him; like he’s on a completely different plain of existence.
She reaches out forcefully, trying to latch her mind onto his, and he’s moving so fast that it’s almost impossible, but she tries harder anyways.
“Wally. I know you’re there, and I know you can hear me. I need you to focus on me. On my mind.”
“Can’tstopohgodcan’tstophelpmecan’tstoppleasejustcan’tstopcan’tstopcan’tstopcan’t-“
“WALLY!”
“Artemis…I’m sorry…”
His voice sounds so small, but it’s slowed down enough that she can finally connect with his mind.
White light flashes before her eyes and when it clears, she’s in a warm clearing. The sun shines brightly overhead, and the grass is green. The trees are in full bloom and off in the distance there’s a clear stream.
“Where-?”
A blur of yellow and red whizzes by her and she stumbles back.
“Wally?”
It happens again and she reaches out to grab on, but misses.
“Wally!”
It happens a few more times, and by the fifth time, she’s timed it just so, and jumps right in front of him.
They collide, and with a grunt, he tumbles to the ground with M’gann, tangled up in the grass.
She pulls away from him and rolls him onto his back. “Wally. Wally, can you hear me?”
He blinks up at her, eyes obviously unfocused. “M’gann…?”
“Yes. Yes, it’s me. We’re inside your mind,” she tells him. “Although where your head’s at I have no idea…”
“Blue Valley,” he mutters. “We’re in Blue Valley…”
M’gann frowns as she looks around them. “Your hometown, before Central City?”
He nods, obviously still dazed. “I’m still running…can’t stop running…”
“Wally,” M’gann says, cupping his face in her hands. “Listen to me. I think I can stop you, but I need your help, because it’s going to be like throwing the emergency brake in the middle of a high speed chase. So I need you to focus all of your energy on stopping.”
“Can’t…” he looks exhausted. “I can’t, M’gann, I can’t stop.”
“You can,” she snaps. “You’re stuck in some kind of speed loop, but you can stop this. We can stop this. Take a deep breath, and stop.”
*****
She comes back to herself with a jolt and a rift opens up in front of her accompanied by a crack of lightning.
Wally West falls out of the rift and into the snow, unconscious and a mess. He’s pale, and intensely thin; his hair overgrown and messy, his Kid Flash uniform in tatters. His whole body is vibrating and she’s not sure if it’s from the running or if he’s shivering from the cold, but she doesn’t care because he’s here and he’s back.
M’gann lets out a relieved sob and turns on her comm link. “Miss Martian to Watchtower. Have I got a surprise for you.“
*****
When he wakes up, he’s staring at a painted white ceiling. It’s sunny, and he can feel a cool breeze drifting in through the open window.
Everything feels slow, and he’s so relieved he could burst into tears.
He covers his eyes with an arm and breathes deeply, trying to contain himself.
He’s not even sure where he is, but he feels like that’s okay. As long as he can sit still, he’s gonna be fine.
‘Are you awake?’
Wally blinks and looks up, finding M’gann staring at him from the doorway. He opens his mouth to talk, but no words come out.
She grins. “You’ve lost your voice, Wally. All that running…you must have been screaming for a while.”
‘Where am I?’
‘My apartment…We initially had you at the Watchtower, but Dick and I felt you might recover better someplace else.’
Wally frowns and slowly sits up. ‘What…what happened at the Watchtower?”
M’gann sighs, her grin fading. ‘The League didn’t believe that it was you. Batman wanted to do some tests on you and Dick and I were afraid that your mind was too fragile to withstand too much more sedation…we smuggled you out and brought you here.”
His eyes widen. ‘And what makes you think the League won’t come after me.’
M’gann sighs and sits next to him. ‘They will. It’s an inevitability. We need a plant.”
Wally stares at her, and then nods. He swallows, and then tries to speak. “Artemis?” he croaks out softly.
M’gann gives him a sympathetic look. “She’s on an away mission to Atlantis with Kaldur and Conner. We tried to reach them, but so far we haven’t had any luck.”
He nods and looks down, and she grins.
“Get a little more rest,” she tells him. “I’ve got some soup on the stove.”
At the mention of food, Wally’s stomach rumbles loudly and he gives her an incredibly sheepish look.
She laughs and ruffles his hair.
*****
Kaldur nods as he grips the comm tightly.
“I understand, M'gann. We’ll be back on the surface as soon as possible."
Artemis looks up, then, frowning as he disconnects. "What’s going on? Did something happen at the Watchtower? Is everyone okay?"
Kaldur opens his mouth, and then closes it.
Conner narrows his eyes. "What happened?"
Kaldur looks at him and then back at Artemis. "Conner, I need to speak to Artemis alone."
Conner looks from one to the other, and slight realization dawns on him. He nods and steps out, and when he’s gone, Artemis turns to Kaldur.
"He didn’t have to leave. Whatever’s going on, he’ll find out eventually."
"Artemis."
"So? Who was it? Sportsmaster again?” she asks. “Dear old dad causing more problems? Wants my head on a stick or something?"
He huffs out a breath. "Artemis."
"We should get-"
”Artemis.“
She stops talking then, staring at him, all business. She’s always all business these days. She’s thrown herself into work so hard since…
He’s having a hard time putting this into words. Usually he can break any news to anyone. He’s so used to making the hard choices, telling his team the things that they need to hear, even the things that break their heart into pieces.
He’s not terribly certain how to give good news.
He looks at her desperately, hoping that maybe, by some feat, she’ll understand.
"Well?” Artemis asks. Her voice is so even, so void of emotion. “What is it?"
Kaldur swallows. "It’s Wally."
Her expression doesn’t change. She just stares at him, saying nothing.
"M'gann found Wally,” he tells her. “They are at her apartment, and I’m taking you there as soon as we wrap up."
Still, she says nothing.
"Artemis-”
“It’s not him,” she says. “It’s never him. You know that. That shapeshifter we ran across, he tried to make me believe, and I was stupid and I did, and it won’t happen agai-"
"It is him, Artemis,” Kaldur says. “M'gann is sure of it."
"Then M'gann’s being a moron, and we should go save her from her damn food hope,” Artemis tells him.
He watches her walk out; hears her say something to Conner about saving his damn fool ex, and his rubs his face.
“This will not go well.”
*****
Artemis stares at the door to M’Gann’s apartment. She’s been standing there staring at it for a number of minutes.
According to Kaldur…to M’Gann…to Dick…Wally West is behind this door.
She should knock.
She should knock.
He’s there. He’s behind this door. He’s alive and breathing and she’s missed him so much that it physically hurts, and she should just knock on the damn door.
She doesn’t.
Instead, she turns and walks away.
*****
When she gets to the bottom of the stairs and heads for the front door, she nearly rams right into Dick.
“Whoa. Hey.” He takes her shoulders, smiling. He looks exhausted and happy and upset all at the same time. “Did you see him?”
Artemis hesitates. “I…”
His smile falls. “Aw. Artemis…”
“What if it’s not him?” she blurts out. “What if...what if whatever M’gann found is just...it’s not Wally? What if-”
“It is,” Dick says gently. “It’s him. Putting aside all of the DNA tests done on him when we took him to the Watchtower...I know Wally West. For a few years, we were practically the same person. He is my best friend. I know him better than I know myself some days, and I know that it’s him. When you see him, you’ll know it, too.”
She swallows. “What if...what if it is him? What if it is him and we don’t work anymore? What if I’m too different? What if he’s...five months...just...just running, what if he’s not...what if he’s not Wally anymore?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Dick tells her. He takes her hand and squeezes it. “Come on. Come back up. Come see Wally.”
*****
“I’m not saying this is the best soup ever because my grandmother would like...rise from the dead and give me that look that says I’ve been a bad boy and I’m in a lot of trouble, but...M’gann...this is...this soup is so good.”
M’gann can’t help a soft laugh. “Wally, it’s canned soup. I heated it up on the stove.”
“Oh...Still! It’s really good!”
He’s sitting up on the couch, wearing a worn, soft t-shirt and boxer shorts Dick had grabbed from the Watchtower before they’d smuggled him out. They hang a little loose now, five months later, and M’gann frets over it silently as she ladles him out more soup.
She’s in the process of handing him the bowl when the door opens and Dick steps in, Artemis behind him, and M’gann freezes.
“You’re here,” she lights up. “Hi.”
Wally looks over, sees Artemis and stands quickly.
“Wally, wait-!” Dick cries.
It’s fast, the way he’s on his feet and then on the floor, his legs not quite strong enough to hold his weight yet.
“Wally!?” Artemis cries, dashing over out of instinct. She pushes M’gann out of the way and kneels down next to him, cupping his face. “What happened?”
He opens his mouth and no sound comes out for a moment as he struggles.
“Ba…”
She knows he’s trying to say “Babe.”
“His vocal chords are still raw,” M’gann explains. “He still can’t really talk.”
Artemis frowns. “Why would…?”
“He was screaming while he was running,” Dick tells her gently.
Artemis stares at them and then back at Wally, who looks sheepish.
“Opening up a psychic link,” M’gann says.
“Hi, Babe.”
“Is it really you?”
“As far as I know. That’s what they tell me.”
Artemis swallows and looks up, realizing Dick and M’gann have cleared out of the living room, before looking back at Wally. “God, Wally, what happened?”
“I...I still trying to figure that out,” he tells her, his expression going grim. “I have a lot to sort through. But...but it’s...it’s been a little hard to think...it’s getting better but...but...I was...I was running for five months. Wherever I was. I was just...running and I couldn’t stop. I should be dead.”
Artemis grips his shoulders. “I can’t believe you’re here.”
Tears spring to his eyes as he fumbles to hold onto her. “Me neither. You’re all I could think about, Babe.”
She wraps him in her arms, holding him tightly and squeezing her eyes shut. Everything about him feels the same, from the feel of his hair against her cheek to the tenseness of his shoulders and how it melts away in her arms. He even smells the same.
She loves and hates that Dick is right.
There isn’t any way this isn’t Wally West.
Artemis holds him tighter, and allows herself a couple of tears as he sobs quietly against her neck.
*****
It’s an hour later, and Artemis has a cup of coffee cradled in her hands at M’gann’s kitchen table. Dick, Kaldur, and M’gann surround her. Wally sleeps deeply on the couch in the other room, still exhausted.
“So...you smuggled him out of the Watchtower, without the League’s permission,” Artemis says softly.
“The tests they were talking about doing would have required heavy sedation,” M’gann explains. “He’s fragile right now. I was worried he wouldn’t have woken up if they’d put him under that deep. He’s starting to heal, his powers are helping it along, but his mind was...fragmented.”
Artemis looks up at M’gann worriedly. “Do you think he could...do you think he could disappear again?”
“We don’t know,” Dick says. “So far, he’s stable, and M’gann’s been monitoring his progress, but...we just don’t know.”
“What we do know is that the League will not stay away for long,” Kaldur cuts in. “We’re going to have to face them sooner or later.”
“Sooner,” M’gann tells them.
There’s a bang on the door before it’s kicked open, and the Flash runs in, followed by Batman, and Green Arrow.
In the living room, Wally shoots up with a gasp ou of a dead sleep and runs, faster than anyone has ever seen him run - possibly faster than anyone else has ever run before - to a corner of the room, a trace of lightning following him. His legs wobble and give.
Artemis gets there as quick as she can, just keeping him from hitting the floor.
“M’gann, open up a channel,” he tells her,
She does.
“WHAT THE HELL, BARRY!”
The Leaguers all jump from Wally’s booming voice in their heads. Even Batman hadn’t seen that coming.
“What do you mean What the hell?!” Barry yells, without missing a beat. “Miss Martian and Nightwing kidnapped you from the Watchtower!”
“Ohmygod KIDNAPPED?! What is WRONG with you! They brought me here to recover!”
“Youwererecoveringjustfine!”
“IWASN”TANDYOUKNOWITDON’TEVENTRYITWITHME!”
“YOUWEREDEAD!”
“IWASN’TDEADANDIT’SNOTMYFAULTYOUTHOUGHTIWAS!”
Their words have gotten so fast that no one else can understand them, just that Wally is yelling, and quickly.
“Wait!” Barry cries, holding up a hand. “Wait!”
Wally stares at him, eyes wide and blazing with anger, his body shaking against Artemis.
“When did you learn to talk that fast?”
“Who cares?” Wally snaps telepathically. “Barry you can’t just kick M’gann’s door down like that! Not cool!”
“Come back to the Watchtower,” Barry orders.
“No.”
“Then at least come back to Central City, your parents are worried sick.”
“I can’t,” Wally tells him, looking torn. “I...I can’t even talk, Barry. I can barely run. I need time. I need...I need sleep and I need...I need my team.”
Ollie rests a hand on Barry’s shoulder. “We’ll check in with you kids tomorrow. If you need us, don’t hesitate to call.’
Bruce narrows his eyes at Dick. “You and I will talk later.”
Dick swallows, but nods.
“Nice to know that we still get treated like babies,” Wally grumbles once the trio of Leaguers are gone.
“Back on the couch, you,” M’gann orders. “More soup. More sleep.”
Wally sags against Artemis, unable to hold himself up anymore and nods.
*****
They all wind up sleeping in the living room.
M’gann is curled up in a chair, watching her friends as they sleep. Wally and Artemis somehow sharing the couch, his leg thrown over her and her face smushed in against his chest. Dick and Kaldur sharing an air mattress on the floor.
Dick has always been a messy sleeper. Feet everywhere. Arms out. By comparison, Kaldur is curled up tight on himself, on his side, away from Dick, looking peaceful.
She closes her eyes, and feels gratefulness spread over her, warmer than any blanket, even though the one person who should be here isn’t.
Until he is.
There’s a soft tap on the broken door, and M’gann gets up, knowing that Conner will be on the other side.
She shifts it open carefully and smiles sadly.
“Hi,” she whispers.
“Hi,” he says. “I...I heard...about Wally.”
M’gann nods. “He’s asleep. Everyone is.”
“Oh. I can...I’ll come back.”
“Or you could stay,” M’gann says quickly.
“M’gann…”
“I know. I know. But this isn’t about us,” she explains. “This is about Wally, and he needs us right now. All of us. So just...stay?”
Conner stares at her for a moment before relenting and stepping inside.
Soon, M’gann is back in her chair. Kaldur and Dick still share the air matress. Wally and Artemis are still on the couch.
And now Conner is settled on the side of her chair, his weight resting against it.
She reaches down and offers him her hand.
It takes a moment, but he takes it. Warm fingers holding hers.
And it’s a start.
